Notes made by the (late) Raven Frankland in 1933, regarding The Haven and Town Head Cottage.

Enfranchised: 1833

Outbuildings -

Stable and loft at The Haven
Wash house at Town Head Cottage
Loft and stables at Town Head Cottage

The room over the stable was once used as a schoolroom. It is approached by an outside staircase. There is a tablet dated '1859' in the front.

Living Houses -

The Haven. "A rather ugly Victorian house" built between 1871 and 1891 by John Beck. "The house is very convenient and comfortable."

Town Head Cottage. Most likely this is the oldest inhabited house in the village. A smallish white-washed building. The gable end facing into The Haven garden formerly had a cottage attached to it, which was pulled down when the Haven was built. This gable incorporated a high-pitched gable of a cruck building. (It is the present cottage which contains the high-pitched gable. Note made 13 October 1981. RF). Two openings which may have been fire places were found in the base of the cruck building during restoration in 1928. There is also a corbled out chimney in the gable. The front formerly had small sashes but these were removed and wooden mullioned casements put in their place by Mrs Maud Frankland in 1928. The dairy contains the remains of a spiral staircase with an oak newel; only two steps now remain. the kitchen has got some very fine oak in it the beams which were stripped of plaster "are very nice." The house is now used as a shop (1933!) and the whole building was thoroughly reconditioned by Mrs Maud Frankland.

Title Deeds

1790 Richard Shaw owned the house, paying a yearly rent of 9d.

1790 Eleanor Reynoldson owned the house paying a yearly manorial rent of 1s.3d.

1791 Admittance of John Todd to house paying a yearly manorial rent of 9d.

1801 Admittance of William Gibson to both houses.

1833 November 14. Indre of Enfranchisement between the Earl of Lonsdale and William Gibson of Wath.

1836 May 11 & 12. Indres of Lease and Release between William Gibson of Wath and Richard Gibson of Dubbs, Schoolmaster, for £18.

1858 November 12. Indre of Conveyance between Elizabeth Gibson of Kirkland, Kendal, daughter of the Reverend Gibson, to Sarah Wilson for "95.

1871 November 11. Indre of Conveyance, Sarah Wilson to John Beck, for the price of £170.

1891 December 6. John Beck died; he built The Haven on the piece of ground behind the Cottage, which paid a yearly rent of 9d, which he demolished. He left the two houses to Sarah Beck (later Mrs Sarah Buck) in a Will dated 15 January 1884.

1920 December 8. Conveyance, Mrs Sarah Buck to John Shuttleworth, for £500.

1921 April 4. Conveyance, John Shuttleworth to William and Agnes Hunter for £500.

1928 June 4. Conveyance, William and Agnes Hunter to Mrs Maud Frankland for £600.

Conveyance of The Haven, Mrs Maud Frankland to Bernard Law Manning (no date given).

1971 February 9. Gift of Cottage, Mrs Maud Frankland to Edward Raven Percy Frankland.

Occupiers of Town Head Cottage/shop:

J W Moore, who moved to Garshill Shop.
William Birtle - shop.
Joseph Capstick - shop
Mary Potter - shop
Empty
Gilbert Mason, house, after repair
Philip Wilson
Raymond Leach, followed by Mrs Bridget Leach.

1982 Richard Capel, National Park Warden
1983 Dilys M Evans, Head Teacher, Ravenstonedale School
1987 Ian Huckson, landscape gardener.

Note by J C Frankland 1999:

The Cottage is Listed, and also the retaining wall at the back although built by Raven Frankland! The listers obviously thought it was an historic piece of masonry: RF was very proud of this.

Further note by RF on Town Head Cottage circa 1984:

?C16th, formerly high pitched for thatch, with unusually thick gable end walls. Raised to two storeys in C18th with stone slate roof, in less good masonry. Extended C19th for Kindergarten School (up outside steps.)

Summary of Legal Documents Appertaining to Town End Cottage, Ravenstonedale...

Item 1
James, Earl of Lonsdale and James Gosling
Date: 14 May 1787
James Gosling asked permission from the Earl's steward to let off part of the cottage and the back half of the garden to Eleanor Fawcett in consideration of an annual rent of threepence farthing.

item 2
Eleanor Fawcett of Ravenstoiiedale Town and Sarah Cleasby of Bowber Head.
Date: 11 November 1831
Eleanor Fawcett "sold" the house and appurtenances to Sarah Cleasby
for the sum of £84 in consideration of her paying the annual rent of
threepence farthing for the leasehold.

Item3
The Right Honourable William, Earl of Lonsdale and Sarah Cleasby
Datte: 19 May 1836
The Earl sold the leasehold for 9sh.. 1d.

Item 5
Sarah Cleasby of Town End Angle, Ravestonedale and Willan Batty of Ravenstonedale Town.
Date: 13 February 1839
Cottage sold to Willan Batty, cordwainer (shoemaker) for the sum of £149.

Item 6
Willan Batty, Ravenstonedale Town, and Ralph Bousfield Robinson, Ravenstonedale Town, yeoman.
Date: 3 April 1850
Fee simple sold for £164. (Building included passage, building over it and outstairs thereto).

Item 7
Ralph Bousfield Robinson and Henry Robinson of Settle, gentleman.
Date: 4 March 1851
(RI3R now described as a grocer). Cottage sold for sum of £107, RBR remaining a tenant of the property at an annual rent of £6.

Item 8
H enry Robinson and Margaret Needhamn of Ulverston.
Date: 10 September 1831.
The sum of £107 being owed to RBR, interest only having been paid, Miss Needham agreed to advance the principal money.

Item 9
Margaret Neeham, Henry Dickenson, Ulverstone, manufacturer and Henry Robinson of Settle.
Date: 15 February 1852
Property sold to Messrs Dickenson and Robinson for £107.

Item 19
Ralph Bousfield Robinson, Henry Dickenson and Henry Robinson on the one part and Anthony Morland of Stouphiligate, Ravenstonedale, yeoman on the other.
Date: 20 May 1854
Paid by Anthony Morland at public auction the sum of £220, £107 of which was paid over to Messrs Dickenson and Robinson, the remainder being paid to Flenry Bousfield Robinson (the tenant).

Item 11
Elizabeth Morland and Inland Revenue
Date: 21 February 1861.
Succession duty on property (£5/10/-).

Item 12
The Reverend John Morland of Aughton, George Spencer of Ravenstonedale, gentleman, William Stow Stowell the Younger of Faverdale House, Darlington, Gentleman and Richard Dawson of Low Wass, Ravenstonedale.
Date: 13 November 1865
Property put up for sale by auction but no reasonable offer received. Subsequently sold to Richard Dawson for £145 by executors of Anthony Morland's will.

Item 13
Will of Richard Dawson
Date: 2 July 1867.
Bequeathed cottage to his wife, Agnes, on condition that she did not remarry, in which event the property was bequeathed to his sister Margaret Turner's children.

Item 14
Declaration of Jonathan Turner, engineer's labourer, Bootle.
Date: 13 July 1900
On the death of Agnes Dawson, James Turner, eldest surviving son of her sister-in-law Margaret, inherited the property. (James Turner was from Dent and Grayrigg).

Item 15
James Turner of Wavertree, railway fireman, Miles Turner of Bentham, gardener, and John Hardacre of Nightingale Hall, Bulk, near Lancaster, farmer.
James Turner, having inherited the property from his aunt, sold it to John Hardacre for £70.

Contributor: CAM March 2000

The present owners of Town End Cottage have been told that the cottage was once an Ale House. There is some possible evidence for this in that at the back of the house there is a narrow passage leading up to a very old doorway which they are told went down to some cellars. Both doorway cellars are now blocked up. On the wall next to their front door is a ring where presumably, horses would be tied up.